DIY Camp Towels

This time of year, it is easy to find yourself going a little stir-crazy. Some call it Spring fever. I call it ... the Hunting Interim. Hunting friends, I know you can relate.

The snow is beginning to melt, my chives and daffodils are forcing their way out of the dirt, giving the dull, brown ground, an instant splash of color.  My camouflage and hunting gear have now been sorted, rearranged and inventoried more than once.  Turkey season is looming just around the corner.  Fall hunting tags are in the process of being submitted, with hopes that accumulated preference points will help in finally drawing that once-in-a-lifetime tag.

My check lists are getting crossed off, one by one ... e.g., closets are cleaned, the basement is almost completely cleaned up, and I really shouldn't make one more batch of cookies.

So to help pass the time, and yet still be productive ... I decided to get creative and make camp towels!  You know those old towels that have begun to fray at the ends? You can only cut off the fraying ends so many times. You wash it only to have a bigger mess than what you started with.
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Don't throw those old towels out!
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Here is an easy way to fix up those old towels and turn them into hunting / camp towels.  Although, I have to admit that some of these beauties have found their way into my kitchen. I really like the way they've turned out.

Step 1:  Cut your towel into the desired hand towel dimension

Step 2:  Sew the top and sides to prevent fraying - make sure to tuck in the frayed part. It should really almost be folded over twice. I then stitched two rows down each side to give it added reinforcement.  See below picture.
 
(FYI ~ Don't be tempted to just cut your towel and make rags. The next time you wash them, it will be a mess ... little pieces of towel will show up everywhere! Trust me. Don't try it.)

Step 3:  Cut out fabric trim for the end. (I used old camouflage scrap fabric - which gives it a perfect accent, especially if using for camp / hunting towels)

Make sure to leave a little extra for each side. You'll fold it over after it is attached and hem it on the back side.

Fold fabric over about 1/2 inch, and iron. Then sew it to the front, top part of the bottom section of your towel. (See below)

Step 4:  Once the fabric accent is attached, fold over the bottom piece and pin to the bottom of the towel.  You can either machine stitch it or hand sew. I opted to hand sew it so that I didn't have a seam on the bottom (front side

​Step 5:  Fold over the sides, using the same process as the bottom. Again, I hand stitched the sides so the seam doesn't show on the front.

All done!  You can easily make 4 hand towels from an old, frayed towel.